WHAT DOES A HOSPICE CHAPLAIN DO?

Published: Jul 22, 2025 - The Hospice Chaplain provides direct, non-denominational pastoral care to patients and families, offering spiritual assessments, crisis intervention, counseling, and coordination with preferred clergy or spiritual advisors. This role collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to develop, document, and continually revise spiritual care plans while maintaining records for quality assurance and compliance. The chaplain also conducts or facilitates memorial services, supports staff through spiritual consultation, and builds partnerships with local faith communities to promote hospice values and extend spiritual support.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Hospice Chaplain

1. Hospice Chaplain Duties

  • Spiritual Assessment: Spiritual/Pastoral assessment of patients, family, and caregiver spiritual needs
  • Care Plan Development: Development of an individualized spiritual plan of care that collaborates with local clergy by the patient and provides spiritual support as defined by the patient/family
  • Policy Compliance: Compliance with AdvisaCare Hospice Policies and Procedures, Medicare compliance
  • Clinical Documentation: Preparing clinical and progress notes, participating in IDG conferences
  • Bereavement Support: Be responsible for being available to staff with bereavement support
  • Performance Improvement: Participate in the Hospice performance improvement program
  • Customer Satisfaction: Maintain a high level of customer satisfaction with our clients, families, and caregivers
  • EMR Management: Consistently and accurately update electronic medical records

2. Hospice Chaplain Details

  • Spiritual Care: Provides spiritual care to patients, families, and facility staff at the end of life
  • Palliative Understanding: Understands and integrates the distinction between palliative care and curative care
  • Clergy Collaboration: Works in collaboration with patient/family clergy in support of peaceful dying and successful grieving
  • Team Relations: Maintains positive working relations with Hospice team members to participate in overall assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation of patient/family care
  • Care Planning: Active team member in the establishment of the patient's plan of care with periodic review and updating
  • Pastoral Documentation: Documents pastoral contributions to the homecare record promptly, and keeps a daily activity log
  • Meeting Participation: Participates in weekly IDT meetings and QAPI meetings as scheduled
  • Resource Support: Serves as a resource person for Hospice staff, volunteers, facility staff, and local clergy
  • Goal Setting: Accountable to the Hospice Assistant Manager to establish, define, and refine department goals and objectives consistent with the organization’s Mission and Values, and demonstrate satisfactory progress toward these goals and objectives
  • Professional Development: Utilizes the Manager of Pastoral Care as a resource for self-care, clergy collaboration, memorial planning, and professional development
  • Ongoing Education: Commits to ongoing education in grief support and Advanced Care Planning (ACP) resources
  • Mission Promotion: Promotes a strong belief in the organization’s Mission and has respect for and compliance with the Patient Rights Statement
  • Program Participation: Participate in programs and administrative activities of the organization and applicable staff meetings

3. Hospice Chaplain Responsibilities

  • Pastoral Care: Provide direct pastoral non-denominational care to Hospice patients and families, including spiritual assessment, crisis intervention, counseling, and linkage with spiritual resources.
  • Spiritual Assessment: Assess the spiritual needs of patients, families, and caregivers promptly, and provide consultation.
  • Advisor Coordination: Contact the patient's or family’s preferred spiritual advisor to ensure ongoing involvement and to invite participation in interdisciplinary care planning.
  • Clergy Support: Contact clergy or spiritual counselors to assist in the spiritual care of patients and family members.
  • Care Planning: Develop and document a plan for spiritual care, in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team.
  • Care Evaluation: Evaluate and revise the plan for the spiritual care of patients, families, and caregivers with the interdisciplinary team on an ongoing basis.
  • Record Maintenance: Maintain records of spiritual care services utilization and related activities for quality assurance, program development, and policy and procedure review and revision.
  • Team Consultation: Provide consultation, education, and support to the interdisciplinary team on spiritual care. Participate in staff meetings, department meetings, team meetings, briefings, in-services, committees, and other related activities.
  • Community Networking: Establish networks with faith communities throughout the service area for the purposes of teaching about the hospice philosophy and enlisting aid in providing spiritual support.
  • Memorial Services: Provide for funeral or memorial services for patients.
  • Service Facilitation: Conduct memorial services in nursing homes.
  • Bereavement Services: Conduct or offer memorial services for family members served by the bereavement program.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Comply with local, state, and federal laws, medicare regulations, JCAHO standards, and established policies and procedures.

4. Hospice Chaplain Job Summary

  • Spiritual Response: Responds to spiritual care requests from patients, family members, and staff within thirty minutes of contact or call.
  • Pastoral Delivery: Participates in delivering and or arranging for appropriate pastoral care to patients, families, and staff.
  • Ritual Provision: Provides religious ritual and sacramental needs, including contacting appropriate community clergy to provide specific ritual or sacramental by the patient, family, or staff’s religion, faith, or beliefs.
  • Spiritual Assessment: Conducts spiritual assessment of patients.
  • On-Call Ministry: Provides back-up or on-call ministry.
  • Ceremony Services: Provides funerals, baptisms, baby dedications, and weddings.
  • Interdisciplinary Support: Promotes and supports an interdisciplinary approach to pastoral care.
  • Clergy Coordination: Assists in the coordination of clergy and pastoral visitors from the religious community.
  • Activity Records: Keeps records of pastoral activity by the Pastoral Care Program.
  • Meeting Participation: Participates in monthly chaplain meetings and special events.
  • Professional Development: Participate in regular professional development activities and supervision.
  • Policy Compliance: Adheres to all Augusta Health policies and guidelines.

5. Hospice Chaplain Accountabilities

  • Spiritual Assessment: Complete a spiritual assessment of patients, families, or caregivers within 5 days of patient or family admission to hospice care, unless deferred by the patient or family
  • Care Planning: Participate in the development of the Interdisciplinary Group (IDG) Plan of Care to meet identified spiritual needs
  • Spiritual Care: Provide direct spiritual care to patients, families, or caregivers
  • Liaison Support: Serve as liaison and support to community chaplains and spiritual counselors
  • Conference Attendance: Attend patient care conference and IDG meetings as a member of the IDG team
  • Team Consultation: Provide consultation, education, and support to the IDG on spiritual care
  • Chaplain Recruitment: Recruit community chaplains, spiritual counselors, and spiritual care volunteers adequate to meet patient, family, or caregiver needs by developing community contacts and offering education through congregations about Hospice care
  • Memorial Services: Provide for funeral or memorial services for patients

6. Hospice Chaplain Job Description

  • Memorial Planning: Participate in planning periodic memorial services to meet the needs of personnel, volunteers, and community clergy or spiritual counselors working with the Hospice team
  • Productivity Maintenance: Maintain the productivity standard as set by the organization's guidelines
  • Timely Documentation: Submit documentation for the patient's medical record within the timeframe set by the organization's guidelines
  • Record Keeping: Maintain records of spiritual care services utilization and related activities for performance improvement, program development, and policy and procedure review and revision
  • Service Documentation: Document direct services and ongoing communication with community chaplains and spiritual counselors
  • Team Education: Participate in the orientation, education, and development of team members as directed by the supervisor
  • Continuing Education: Participate in appropriate continuing education as may be requested and/or required by their immediate supervisor
  • Performance Improvement: Actively participate in the performance improvement program and participate in and adhere to the PH&S/TrinityCare Hospice Corporate Integrity Plan
  • Financial Prudence: Follow the core value for being financially prudent

7. Hospice Chaplain Overview

  • Intake Coordination: Receives patient’s information and makes an appointment to determine spiritual needs and concerns, establishing goals with the patient and family, including frequency of visits
  • Spiritual Support: Presents appropriate spiritual support for patient and family based on expressed needs and preferences
  • Emotional Support: Prays with the patient and/or family as invited and provides emotional support
  • Progress Documentation: Documents visits and progress towards meeting goals
  • Bereavement Services: Participates in bereavement services and provides spiritual support for survivors
  • Meeting Participation: Attends IDT meetings and shares specific spiritual needs for each patient in their care
  • In-Service Attendance: Be responsible for attending in-services
  • Staff Support: Provides spiritual support for staff

8. Hospice Chaplain Tasks

  • Spiritual Ministry: Ministers to the spiritual needs of patients, families, and Mayo Clinic employees
  • Team Coverage: Participates in a team ministry with other members of the department to provide unit on-call coverage
  • Sacramental Support: Assists in sacramental or ritual ministry, provides referral to ordained chaplains for sacramental ministry
  • Pastoral Planning: Works cooperatively with other members of the Department of Chaplain Services in planning and providing a total program of pastoral care
  • Committee Service: Serves on committees within the department and other hospital committees
  • Educational Participation: Supports and participates in the educational programs of the department
  • Staff Orientation: Assists in orienting new personnel to the Department of Chaplain Services
  • Record Management: Prepares and maintains records for assigned areas and documents patient care activities in the medical record
  • Activity Documentation: Records patient care activity in the department Chaplain Activity Record Electronic (CARE) program
  • Travel Support: Travels across the state, providing spiritual support to Mayo Clinic Hospice patients in their place of residence

9. Hospice Chaplain Additional Details

  • Spiritual Support: Provide spiritual support for all patients, families, and caregivers
  • Diversity Respect: Provide pastoral care that respects diversity and differences, including culture, gender, sexual orientation, and spiritual or religious practices
  • Needs Assessment: Assesses patient, family, or caregivers' spiritual needs through an initial visit or telephone contact, or assessment
  • Spiritual Counseling: Responsibilities include assessing spiritual or religious needs, spiritual counseling, documentation, and coordination of services with other IDG members
  • Care Plan Development: Responsible for the development of the spiritual plan of care and frequency
  • Visit Scheduling: Schedules and performs visits per the established Plan of Care
  • Grief Support: Provide Spiritual or Pastoral Care to patients, families, or caregivers experiencing loss and grief
  • Funeral Planning: Plans and or officiates at funerals or memorial services
  • Staff Support: Provide effective spiritual or emotional support for hospice staff and volunteers
  • Community Communication: Communicate with the patient’s community spiritual support person
  • Community Liaison: Acts as a liaison to the spiritual community

10. Hospice Chaplain Role Purpose

  • Spiritual Care: Provides direct spiritual care to patients and families
  • Care Consultation: Provides consultation to other members of the care team regarding spiritual issues and resources in patient and family care, and ethics
  • Pastoral Staff Support: Provides direct pastoral care to staff and physicians, complementing staff support services provided by others
  • Professional Contribution: Contributes to the field of professional spiritual care by conducting and reporting research, publishing, and providing workshops at professional meetings
  • Care Coordination: Responsible for the provision of spiritual care services to patients, families, or caregivers of Bluegrass Care Navigators, either directly or through the coordination of care with other spiritual counselors
  • Patient Care: Responsibility for other aspects of patient care, except where limited by licensure
  • Hospice Services: Providing hospice services to approximately 1,000 patients daily in 32 counties located in central, northern, and eastern Kentucky
  • Visit Documentation: Documenting patient visits appropriately
  • On-Call Support: Responding to calls throughout the working day and serving as on-call chaplain on weekends, holidays, and evenings
  • Chaplain Supervision: Recruits, trains, and supervises volunteer chaplains